New Delhi: Congress is projected to get a simple majority in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly in the May 5 elections, ousting the first BJP government in south India, according to a pre-poll survey. The projection in CNN-IBN and The Week pre-poll survey, conducted by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), also says ruling BJP is likely to lose substantial ground in the next month’s Assembly polls.
The survey says Congress is set to get around 117-129 seats in the Assembly this time. The party’s strength at present is 71. The BJP, which has 104 seats in the 2008 polls, may get only 39-49 seats in the upcoming elections succumbing to a strong anti-incumbency factor, the survey says.
It says former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s JD(S) is likely to get 34-44 seats and former BJP strongman B.S. Yeddyurappa’s Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) and Independents together may end up with only 14-22 seats.
JD(S) president and former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is the most preferred chief minister candidate with 18 per cent of poll respondents voting for him, it says.
While Yeddyurappa came a close second garnering 10 per cent votes, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar came last with six per cent votes, the poll survey said.
Congress leader Siddaramaiah occupied the third place gaining nine per cent votes, while his party colleague and former CM S.M. Krishna was at fourth place.
